NFT: The Fighting Gnats at Mets Game 3 BRRROOMS! Cy Young Winner

back for the stretch run, and (crossing fingers) playoffs, I think we have a decent chance this year. Our starting pitching is ridiculous right now. Phillies are in a tailspin, Braves are dealing with injuries. Cubs don't scare me at all. Dodgers are the team to watch out for.

I'm sure everyone has seen this clip of the Braves Mark Malancon covering up the pitching rubber. Ump comes out and cleans it off.....Melonhead covers it back up.

Cheaters never prosper.

Playin' Footsie with the Ump - ( New Window )

In comment 14526759 Named Later said:

Quote:

I'm sure everyone has seen this clip of the Braves Mark Malancon covering up the pitching rubber. Ump comes out and cleans it off.....Melonhead covers it back up. Cheaters never prosper. Playin' Footsie with the Ump - ( New Window )

Casual baseball fan here so forgive my ignorance, but what's the advantage of covering the strip with dirt?

Need to do this sweep. Take 2/3 from Atalanta.

I'm hoping this carries over into next year. Maybe a new bash brothers thing going here minus the needles.

Davis I can see hitting 30 over a full season with how the balls are juiced. It was a nice find for Brodie

In comment 14526775 Eli owns all said:

Quote:

Need to do this sweep. Take 2/3 from Atalanta.

Braves still scare the crap out of me. Since the late 90's no franchise consistently stomped on our hearts more than Atlanta in Atlanta. It doesn't even seem to matter if we're hot, they're cold, injuries, the success of the teams. Atlanta just has a hex over us when it matters

defense

Catching the ball degrom. Figures he would be the 1 to shit the bed

Ugly stuff. Seemed like it was on JDG who flubbed the 1st out, but add in the 'Ramos: catcher who still can't catch' and it's an xtra run

How did they score three runs on a infield error?

In comment 14526773 Kev in Cali said:

Quote:

In comment 14526759 Named Later said: Quote: I'm sure everyone has seen this clip of the Braves Mark Malancon covering up the pitching rubber. Ump comes out and cleans it off.....Melonhead covers it back up. Cheaters never prosper. Playin' Footsie with the Ump - ( New Window ) Casual baseball fan here so forgive my ignorance, but what's the advantage of covering the strip with dirt?

He can stand closer to home plate, making the ball appear to go faster to the batter.

Alonso get the error on that play, which I really don't get. Not that it really matters in the end.

In comment 14526812 Pete in MD said:

Quote:

Alonso get the error on that play, which I really don't get. Not that it really matters in the end.

you Petes always stick together.

In comment 14526809 Vanzetti said:

Quote:

How did they score three runs on a infield error?

2-outs, bases loaded, sharp hit to Pete, JDG seemed to stop a step b4 getting to 1st and misses the ball...2 runs score. He chases it down, throws to Ramos, who is unable to catch it tho way ahead of Soto, 3-0

velocity is down is worrisome.

AND launched his bat to third in the same swing? I'm waiting to see it

RBI single, 3-1 bad guys

JDG w/ a sneaky bunt hit, 2-outs bases juiced

Ties this shit up

What a god damn squirrel

My voice is gone from going nuts at home. Lmfao this is fun

JDG's bunt was HUGE...already absolved for that 1st inning error

In comment 14526834 ChaChing said:

Quote:

AND launched his bat to third in the same swing? I'm waiting to see it

Yes.
Link - ( New Window )

If DeGrom can settle down we’ll be in a good position without Sanchez starting to work a pitch count.

down a tick, 94-96, he's usually 96-98. Always a concern.

In comment 14526846 10thAve said:

Quote:

In comment 14526834 ChaChing said: Quote: AND launched his bat to third in the same swing? I'm waiting to see it Yes. Link - ( New Window )

Awesome, great find

Has called time/stepped out late 2 more times today. I hope we get a game where we are up big and he gets one in the ass or back

we can get from DeGrom today. It’ll be a challenge for him to face the top of their order for a third time. Time for Brach, Diaz and others to contribute today.

In comment 14526853 KDubbs said:

Quote:

Has called time/stepped out late 2 more times today. I hope we get a game where we are up big and he gets one in the ass or back

I blame the moron umpires. They let this bullshit happen repeatedly. Baseball umpires play the fake tough guy bullshit more than any other sport. Screw them all.

In comment 14526855 Metnut said:

Quote:

we can get from DeGrom today. It’ll be a challenge for him to face the top of their order for a third time. Time for Brach, Diaz and others to contribute today.

Possibly, but Thor got himself settled after a rough 1st and still went for 7. And of course JDG is known for this. This is a great top lineup but I wouldn't protect my ace from a 3rd time thru, esp one as good as JDG

that obviously is the deciding factor

1st half from 2nd half

They’ll have him go 6.

for years. He’s really good and a bit of an asshole.

Good short inning for DeGrom. Top of the 5th will be a big test.

those are very slow going, but he got there

here in the 5th. Let’s do this!

last thing we want is Turner on base

that was working so well for him? I know some guys can get there so you can't use it on everyone. But I feel like he's gone away from that after having using it much more last yr iirc

showing some leather

as much as i'd prefer him not in CF he really overachieves there.

Goooo.

Defense matters

awesome play

the ball Conforto caught in center is a hit 63% of the time according to statcast. Not highway robbery, but a ball that more often than not falls in.

If that one dropped and Eaton was on 2nd he probably scores on Rendon's hit. But if not, the ball Panik just got is a hit 60% of the time also.

So add that up and what could have easily been a double, single, single turns into an out, a harmless single, and another out.

Degrom out

don't love Avilan despite his stats vs. Allen.

have a slate of games against much better teams coming up.

I know that Wash is a good team, but I am surprised that each one of these games has been such a fight. And this one is shaping my up to be the same.

men first and third, welcome to the Mets Brad!

Right handed hitters are hitting .346 against Avilan yet Mickey continues to put him out there vs righties. Moron of the year.

In comment 14526894 PhiPsi125 said:

Quote:

have a slate of games against much better teams coming up. I know that Wash is a good team, but I am surprised that each one of these games has been such a fight. And this one is shaping my up to be the same.

Nats are good and we got their 3 best SP at the moment. They got ours too and we didn't need to face Sherzer, but Strasburg and Corbin both pitched really well. Soto, Turner, Rendon are studs. IMO the way they were setup this series made this a tougher series than the either of the upcoming Braves will be (6 of the next 12 games) - and obviously the Royals too.

but then wtf do lightning rods do?

In comment 14526904 ChaChing said:

Quote:

but then wtf do lightning rods do?

get traded by DG.

McNeil error gets the runner to 3rd, 1-out

Rendon and soto.

In comment 14526911 KDubbs said:

Quote:

Rendon and soto.

And Turner. And Eaton.

Also getting tired of playing people out of position and the poor defense that comes from it.

Soto really acts like a major asshole. Hope his career falls off a cliff.

.

Washington really corners the market on asshole baseball players.

but Mickey has already used 100 pitchers the last 2 innings so it is what it is.

Let’s see some of those dancing moves now!

Cabrera

Mickey fucking blows. I know there aren't many great options in this BP but boy does he have the reverse midas touch.

In comment 14526918 Eric on Li said:

Quote:

but Mickey has already used 100 pitchers the last 2 innings so it is what it is.

You see? Any one of these armchair managers here on BBI could manage light years better than Mickey. I vote for you Eric.

Familia in with bases loaded?

for Cabrera. Not surprised he came through. Wish he was still in blue and orange.

Well, we have 9 outs against their shitty pen. Let’s do it again.

In comment 14526919 PhiPsi125 said:

Quote:

Let’s see some of those dancing moves now!

HAHAHAHA! I don't root for injuries, but since they have to happen to someone...

...

In comment 14526926 ChaChing said:

Quote:

...

Or not...he's out

but man, losing a JDG start because of gifting 3 runs would be sheeeIt

(a leadoff dub)

Rosario need a timely hit here. Also ball is not carrying at all today.

Your turn.

Love the Nats BP

LFGM!

What are they doing

we takes it

JD lets gooooooo

Way. Not called all game

Eat a dick ump

didn’t go our way.

In comment 14526923 KDubbs said:

Quote:

Familia in with bases loaded?

Once Gsellman put 2 on with less than 2 out they were likely getting a run. But yes I would have went to Familia over Wilson. Mickey went with a lefty because the next 2 hitters were lefties Soto, Allen, but left himself with a bad matchup vs. a clutch cabrera. When Familia is on the matchups don't matter and he was coming into this game at some point anyway, I would have given him the tough spot and saved Wilson to hopefully start the 8th clean. Familia and Wilson have both been bad this year and better lately, but we've seen Familia houdini literally dozens of times in big situations whereas we've seen Wilson do it once or twice maybe? In a game without Lugo we have to trust Familia (& Diaz) to turn things around, if they don't we aren't likely to go far.

would have been nice to get that call obv

But Mr RISP is up fwiw

and work a pitcher until they can make hard contact. Makes life so much harder on these middle relievers in big spots to not get easy K's. Ramos, McNeil, Panik, lately Rosario, obviously Conforto/Alonso/Davis are never easy at bats. They make these RP's work.

Here we go boys

!!!

just throw it like that from the stretch. If Frazier and Panik make outs right away I'd consider letting him bat and come back out in the 9th.

In comment 14526953 ChaChing said:

Quote:

!!!

Familia is the closest we've ever had to a guy who rises to the occasion and gets better in big spots. Every reliever gets beat once in a while, not very many have locked down 6 out saves on the road in the playoffs.

might as well have Familia hit even if guys are on...

In comment 14526957 ChaChing said:

Quote:

might as well have Familia hit even if guys are on...

exactly - unless Panik gets on there is minimal reason to PH here. If Mickey hadn't used his entire BP already it would be a different story, but he has, so...

What a fuckin bum.

If we tie this game and it goes to extras we’re going to be in an awful spot.

Diaz vs. top of Nats lineup should be interesting. Would be nice to see him do what Familia just did and at least build up a little confidence.

Is there really nobody in the farm that can bat better than .075?

he needs to be gone. Might as well have kept Gomez for his bat compared to this. Better off even PHing w/ almost any SP

In comment 14526961 Metnut said:

Quote:

If we tie this game and it goes to extras we’re going to be in an awful spot.

That would be the best move.

In comment 14526961 Metnut said:

Quote:

If we tie this game and it goes to extras we’re going to be in an awful spot.

Mickey don't plan good. Or think good.

it would be really nicer to get a win here. As much as Mickey does his best to thwart that.

In comment 14526961 Metnut said:

Quote:

If we tie this game and it goes to extras we’re going to be in an awful spot.

Because Mickey literally can't stop himself from making the wrong decisions. If he was going to PH there, he would have been smarter to use Syndergaard or Matz or Stroman. Or burning Nido. All would have had a better shot at tying the game than Altherr - who should be cut.

In comment 14526968 PhiPsi125 said:

Quote:

it would be really nicer to get a win here. As much as Mickey does his best to thwart that.

Definitely. But like I said b4, this game would have been mostly solved if JDG hadn't flubbed that out at first, or at least better if they saved the 3rd run. Really crappy one to L, would be a new way for JDG to get a ND / L

this team 3 straight losses if not for amazing comebacks. If this is the only one that happens we'd still be coming out ahead, but it would be nice if he hadn't wasted Familia and Diaz until the last 2 innings of this series already behind as opposed to pumping both Gsellman and Wilson twice in 3 games with each giving up runs both times.

It ain’t the juiced balls...he just blows.

really shoulda had Familia in fwiw. Not that he's some huge upgrade, but he was rolling. While Diaz in spite of getting close issued a walk again, then that...

In comment 14526975 PhiPsi125 said:

Quote:

It ain’t the juiced balls...he just blows.

Indeed he does. Going forward they need to just let the best guys pitch. Lugo obviously has earned the big spots whenever he is fresh and I wouldn't hesitate at all to give Familia some chances over Diaz. Diaz needs to earn his role - whatever that becomes.

Mickey in the dugout any longer. I’d still probably take the playoffs but we’d be giving up a lot by having this loser in a Mets uniform for another (likely) losing season.

We played the same games with Terry Collins. Mickeys awfulness has made many people look back favorably at Terry Collins...not me. TC was another fucking awful manager.

Will this team ever get a capable manager? Probably not. Next buffoon up!

they've been overly sensitive to what his role is acting like he had the track record of Mariano Rivera when he had 1 great year in Seattle. He has never pitched in meaningful games and he had obviously never pitched in NY. Let the guy prove himself before putting him up on a pedestal.

Billy Wagner was a HOF closer who had pitched in the playoffs numerous times and he had some trouble adjusting here and had some big blown saves. Same with K-rod. Diaz is a 24 year old who has had 1 really good season.

The rest of them pretty much blow.

In comment 14526979 PhiPsi125 said:

Quote:

Mickey in the dugout any longer. I’d still probably take the playoffs but we’d be giving up a lot by having this loser in a Mets uniform for another (likely) losing season. We played the same games with Terry Collins. Mickeys awfulness has made many people look back favorably at Terry Collins...not me. TC was another fucking awful manager. Will this team ever get a capable manager? Probably not. Next buffoon up!

Comparing Collins BP management to Callaway's is wildly unfair considering the 2 years he had decent players, he had good BP performances (15-16). In the '15 playoffs Collins was basically perfect in his BP usage. Has Callaway ever been good for more than 1 game in a row, let alone 10+ against top teams?

and we let a little bit of an opportunity get away from us, but, let’s be realistic, this team isn’t going to win out.

Take 2/3 vs Atlanta and keep the momentum up.

once again D bites them in the butt (among other poor mgmt decisions). 2 errors = 3 runs. Still had chances to come back, but JDG pitched another solid one and Mets still L

help on the scoreboard today

1. inconsistent D cost them runs in 2 games (often due to guys playing out of position)
2. the BP gave Washington leads in all 3 games
3. and most depressing the manager still consistently makes mind-numbing decisions. Putting Stroman back out for the 7th in game 1 was such an obvious bad decision. Moving Conforto out of the 3 hole after his game winner was more than a little questionable. And today? Where to start? Letting Avilan face 2 righties and then having to burn Brach. Going back to Gsellman + Wilson in a tie game in the 7th after both gave up runs in g1. Taking Familia out after his most dominant 13 pitches of the year with very few options left in the pen if the game went extras. Wasting 1 of his last 4 outs in a 1 run game on Altherr.

Getting 2 wins in a series played pretty evenly is a fair result but they can't ignore the reality that there are consistent reasons they lose and if they aren't addressed they will continue to leave winnable games on the table.

Also not that it was egregious on it's own, but IMO taking SP out JDG when rolling made it worse. And that is almost always a better choice than any RP. So unless he's gassed or it's a specific bad match-up, it shouldn't matter if he's AB the prior inning (esp w/ no RISP) or if lefties are coming up or it's about to be 3rd time around

And of course you need 3 fewer outs of playing BP. Even if they don't recognize MC's weaknesses there, the general rule should be to use your best pitcher / SP as long as he can go within reason. Same idea keeping Familia out for a 2nd inning in this specific case (and PHing w/ shitty Altherr, wtf?). The Mick could blindly err on keeping SPs (or any pitcher that's rolling) in longer and get immediate better results

Have to think we're due to get some relief on the i jury front at some point in this season. Dom, Lowrie, someone who can provide some depth or a spark when we may need it down the stretch.

There’s no doubt that Calloway has made lots of stupid decisions. But, I would bet my house that if he kept Familia in for the 9th and he lost the game, the same posters would be blaming him for not taking him out. The bullpen is totally erratic and I don’t think any manager would do much better with this group. Also, if Calloway can’t use Diaz on a save situation and get away with it, I think the team has virtually no chance of making the playoffs. I don’t blame them for using him. Last, while Atherr sucks, do you expect a manager to play one guy short? If he’s on the roster, he needs to
be used. Or, replace him.

The other stuff is more a reflection of Mets bad bullpen

In comment 14526999 Samiam said:

Quote:

There’s no doubt that Calloway has made lots of stupid decisions. But, I would bet my house that if he kept Familia in for the 9th and he lost the game, the same posters would be blaming him for not taking him out. The bullpen is totally erratic and I don’t think any manager would do much better with this group. Also, if Calloway can’t use Diaz on a save situation and get away with it, I think the team has virtually no chance of making the playoffs. I don’t blame them for using him. Last, while Atherr sucks, do you expect a manager to play one guy short? If he’s on the roster, he needs to be used. Or, replace him.

No I can't agree. JDG rolling, your best pitcher, but you feel the need to pull him when he has gas in the tank, esp given the BP issues? Familia, as erratic as he is, has a fantastic 1-2-3 8th nailing his pitches. But you replace him w/ equally erratic Diaz? Both are shaky game-to-game, so that's why you stick w/ the hot hand. Worst, when you DO keep a pitcher in it's your LOOGY against righties, who gets lit up again. Or Stro when he was clearly gassed

And if the AB was more the reason to pull Familia, your PHer better have a decent chance of getting on base for 1, and for 2 give you a better chance to win vs keeping your RP in another inning. Putting in .075 Altherr - worst hitter even compared to several pitchers - is that move? Worst move you could make. Hell iirc a few games ago he PH'd Guillorme for a pitcher...to have him bunt...in spite of the L-R matchup?

These decisions are awful and add up. Even if the biggest reason for today's loss was JDG / Ramos 1st inning errors, they could have been in better position to win. And really if it was just this game fine, but this has been all year even through the W streak. The Mick just hasn't been very good

In comment 14526999 Samiam said:

Quote:

There’s no doubt that Calloway has made lots of stupid decisions. But, I would bet my house that if he kept Familia in for the 9th and he lost the game, the same posters would be blaming him for not taking him out. The bullpen is totally erratic and I don’t think any manager would do much better with this group. Also, if Calloway can’t use Diaz on a save situation and get away with it, I think the team has virtually no chance of making the playoffs. I don’t blame them for using him. Last, while Atherr sucks, do you expect a manager to play one guy short? If he’s on the roster, he needs to be used. Or, replace him.

There were other guys on the bench he could have used 1 of his last 4 outs on better than Altherr. Including pitchers. Just because you have a wrench in your toolbox you don't need to swing it at a nail.

And if squeezing a second inning out Familia started getting into trouble in the 9th he still had Diaz. If Diaz came in with 1 guy on it wouldn't be ideal but that's a situation your closer needs to be able to deal with in a game that could be headed for extras.

I don't blame Mickey for Diaz giving up a homer run or sucking as much as he has. I blame him for not managing well. If the game got tied in the 9th, then what? I'll tell you what because there is only 1 answer - Chris Mazza. In the span of 9 outs Mickey had used 6 of his 7 available relievers. That is poor managing.

cursed to blow two prior games with Met come from behind wins. Their fans must also be screaming at their BP

In comment 14527039 xman said:

Quote:

cursed to blow two prior games with Met come from behind wins. Their fans must also be screaming at their BP

There's a difference between questioning a decision making process and a bad outcome. I'm sure the nats fans are pissed too but game 1 they had their closer on the mound with a 3 run lead. That's a relatively easy one to assign blame and it's not the manager's process but a player's extremely poor outcome.

Similarly Diaz had a bad outcome today - which isn't Callaway's fault. The issue was that he emptied his bp if the game went to extras with a string of bad decisions earlier (that also happened to lose the lead in the first place). And as always there's inconsistency in the decisions. Friday Stroman was getting tee'd off and he left him to face the top of the order in despite a full BP from a day off Thursday. Today JDG was cruising today but he pulled him out early knowing his BP was short without Lugo. It's like he just reacts to whatever most recently didn't work and does the opposite the next game regardless of any differences in the circumstances.

Make Lugo the closer and experiment with Familia in a setup role. He looked really sharp today and might be figuring it out again. Wilson 7th.

Diaz's slider just has zero movement. He simply cant find it. This has gone all year. The playoffs have begun now. He had his chances.

Good news is Mets have still had the second best bullpen ERA in baseball since the all star break so the pen as a whole IS performing much better.

I grant you that he has made a ton of bad moves, I really wonder if he has a bench coach worth his salt. That said, his bullpen got much better when the 2 lefties came back; he could match up a little. And lately the defense has gotten better. Still, the bullpen is completely unpredictable and will probably be the reason if they dont make the playoffs. For them to get in Diaz has to step in. Familia has shown enough over the years that he cannot be relied on. I think Calloway took him out today while he was doing well. If you leave him in against a good team, he’ll find a way to screw up & then his confidence goes. Lugo can’t be the only main guy during the season. Diaz has to be there. Oddly enough, if they get into the playoffs, with the days off, Lugo can be the guy,

About Callaway. If you wanna see how a manager who is clueless when it comes to baseball... see Gabe Kapler tonight. Just the biggest joke in the sport right now.

Was more devastating to the Phillies than Ryan howard Achilles injury.

Klentak ain’t far behind. Nick Pivetta was a top of the rotation guy according to these buffoons! Go sabremetrics!

The defense (and lineup) got better in the last week because Cano got hurt - if he didn't get hurt he'd have been leading off the 9th inning against Doolittle on Friday instead of JDD. This was the first series he's ever managed that actually mattered. How did he do Friday before getting bailed out by Frazier? Or today? Tie games in the 7th inning at home against a team with an even worse BP than ours.

Let's not overthink this, Mickey came in with a pitching coach background and in the 2 years he's been here every single relief pitcher has performed worse than they did prior. Diaz, Swarzak, Familia, Blevins, Wilson, Robles, all of them. He has already fired 1 pitching coach. The SP was great before he got here and they are still great (when the defense allows it).

Michael Mayer
@mikemayerMMO
·
8m
Mets third round pick Matthew Allan made his third pro start today:

2 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 2 K

He has allowed one run in 4.1 innings with six strikeouts.